Time to Tell
by SaffronAngel
Summary: Kim and Tommy are starting to work things out but what about the after effects in the future for Sydney?
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: The Power Rangers in any incarnation are not mine. I'm just borrowing them for an idea that came to mind.

SUMMARY: This would take place during the episode 'Wormhole'. It's my take on what might have happened if two long time Rangers had been sent to help Tommy, the Dino Rangers and SPD during the battle.

A/N: This could get a little weird. It uses a lot of flashbacks and might actually explain a few things. Please bear with me. JD's forcing me to write this one.

* * *

The SPD Rangers and the Dino Thunder Rangers were in a circle and surrounded by Tyranodrones and Krybots. They had started shouting, "No one gets into our circle!" when Tommy felt the rush of someone teleporting in behind him. He didn't look. He didn't have to after one of the two spoke.

"Does that include us, bro?"

"Welcome to the party, Jason." Tommy didn't address the other person standing in the circle. He didn't have to. She knew that he was aware of her presence. He had always known when she was around.

She was right. He knew she was there. He could feel her doe eyes on him. He could also feel the pain she was radiating when he didn't acknowledge her. Jason stepped up next to Tommy while Kim stepped into a space made for her between Kira and Syd. _'Maybe we can talk later. I have to explain to him,'_ she thought, blinking back tears.

And so the fight was joined. Syd had paired off with Kim. Tommy had caught only one glimpse of the two of them fighting side by side as the battle raged. Their fighting styles were so similar that he almost could have sworn that they were one and the same.

When it was all over, Jason looked around. He didn't see Kim anywhere. He powered down. "Kim! Kim!"

"She's over here!" came a stranger's voice. Jason ran over to find Kim unconscious and demorphed. "She took a major hit. She hasn't moved since." There was a rising panic in the Pink Ranger's voice. She powered down right in front Jason and he knew immediately who he was looking at.

He couldn't worry about that right now though. He had to take care of Kim. He had promised the nine-year-old in Florida that her mother would come home safely.

Kneeling over his fallen friend, Jason reached to check for her pulse. When he found it, he breathed a sigh of relief. She was alive. Unfortunately, he had to get her out of there before he blew up at Tommy.

Jason knew why Kim had taken the hit. He had seen it happen. She had been covering Syd. She knew exactly who Sydney Drew really was.

He gathered his friend up in his arms. "She'll be alright, Syd. I promise." Sydney nodded.

"I have to go, Uncle Jason. Take care of her." Jason nodded and walked away as the young Pink Ranger bowed her head with tears in her eyes. He turned just once as he left to notice that the Green Ranger had come up beside her to offer her comfort. He knew that she would be alright.

"Jase!" Tommy hollered out, running up. "Is she okay?"

Jason bit down. He had to remind himself that Kim was the one who sent the letter, against his better advice. But he also knew that Kim and Tommy were destined to be. "I don't know, man. The other Pink said that she had taken a major hit and hadn't moved since. She's alive but I don't know how bad it is."

"Let's take her to my place. I have a medical bay at the base."

Jason nodded and followed his friend as he left the battlefield.

* * *

As they walked into the Dino Thunder lair, Jason thought about how much he had wanted to give Tommy a piece of his mind all those years ago. He remembered the day that Kim had called him and told him that she had to quit the team.

_**FLASHBACK JANUARY 1996**_

"_Hello?" Jason said groggily as he turned on the light beside his bed._

"_Jason? I'm sorry. I forgot about the time difference. Were you sleeping?" Kim's teary voice had Jason awake in a heartbeat._

"_I was. Kim, what's wrong?" He was now sitting bolt upright on the edge of the bed. _

"_I lost my place on the team." Kim was almost fully in tears now. "I did something stupid when I went home for Christmas."_

"_Calm down, Kim. Just tell me what happened." Jason had a feeling he was going to want to kill someone for hurting his baby sister._

"_I'm pregnant. The coach found out and I lost my place on the team. He said that I couldn't compete pregnant and that if I really wanted this, I had to get an abortion."_

"_What did you tell him?"_

"_I didn't say anything. I can't kill this baby. It's all I have left of Tommy."  
_

"_What do you mean? Kim, what have you done?"_

"_I broke up with him. I couldn't tell him that I was pregnant. I sent him a letter telling him that I had found someone else." Kim sobbed brokenly into the phone. "Jason, what am I going to do?"_

"_I'm going to come down there and we'll see what we can do together. I won't let you go through this alone. I promise, sis."_

"_Jason, you're great. But I couldn't ask you to give up the conference."_

"_Sis, don't. You're family. Besides, I was going to be leaving the conference in a couple of days anyway. It's over. Trini, Zack and I will be there as soon as we can." He gentled his voice even farther. "Try to rest as much as possible. And don't worry. We'll make sure that everything's all right."_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

By the time Jason, Trini and Zack had arrived in Florida and gotten a house set up so that Kim had somewhere to live, Tommy had moved on with his life. Billy had kept Jason up to date on what was going on in Angel Grove. Jason had told Billy and sworn him to secrecy. The only one Billy told was Zordon who had immediately contacted Ninjor and Dulcea who both promised to keep an eye on the lonely Kimberly.

"Lay her down here," Tommy instructed as he set up some diagnostics.

"I see that you're not quite as helpless when it comes to technology anymore," Jason ribbed.

"True. But that's thanks to Billy and Hayley." He looked up at his friend who had raised an eyebrow at Hayley's name. "Hayley's a woman who went to college with me. She's been the Dino Thunder tech advisor. My Billy, so to speak."

Jason nodded. He lay Kim down on the table and Tommy ran his diagnostic. "She doesn't seem to be injured too badly. Her back is the worst of it. Any idea where all this scar tissue came from?"

Jason winced. Billy had told him that Tommy didn't remember what he had done during the time that he had believed himself to be king of the Machine Empire. He just didn't want to remember how he had found Kimberly in the dungeons of the Moon Palace.

_**FLASHBACK LATE NOVEMBER 1996**_

_Kim was still weak from the birth of her daughter. There had been complications during the birth and it had almost killed the Crane. But Sydney Anne Hart had come through with flying colors. Without Ninjor, Trini and Zack, Jason was sure they would have lost Kim._

_So when she had been captured by the Machine Empire, she had no strength left to fight with. Jason had been called in Angel Grove where he was currently the Gold Ranger. With Zordon's and Billy's help, Jason managed to get into the Moon Palace where they had found Kimberly's bio signature. What he found there still haunted his dreams._

_Kimberly had been chained to a wall standing up. She was naked from the waist up. But it was her back that tore the agonized scream from Jason's throat. She had been beaten brutally. Her back, to be completely honest, looked like hamburger. She was unconscious, which was a blessing when Jason unchained her and gently wrapped her in a blanket before teleporting her back to the Power Chamber. She was immediately spirited off into deeper chambers where Alpha, Zordon and Billy worked tirelessly to save the original Pink Ranger._

_It was almost two months before Kim's back had healed enough to let her go home to her daughter. During that time, Jason had fought himself to keep from marching Tommy down there and showing him what he had done to Kimberly. Of course he had known that if he did that, he'd end up telling him about Sydney and Kim didn't want that. _

_He'd kept his mouth shut and he knew that it would come back to haunt him._

_**END FLASHBACK**_

"That's something Kim's going to have to tell you. She made me swear not to tell you." He looked at Tommy and something in his eyes told Tommy that the story was not a pretty one.

"Jase, tell me. What happened to Kimberly?"

"I can't, man.She made me swear. After everything that's happened to her, I owe her that much at least." Jason picked Kimberly back up and turned to leave. "I need to get her home."

"At least, stay until she wakes up. Please, Jase."

Jason turned to look back at his friend. The raw emotion in his eyes decided Jason. He had to stay, give Kim the chance to tell Tommy about his daughter.

"Alright. I'll stay. Where can she rest?"

"She can have my bed. It'll be more comfortable for her." Jason just nodded and followed his friend.

* * *

Two days later, Jason had called Zack and Aisha to make sure that everything was okay. Kim still hadn't woken up but she was restless as if she were having nightmares.

The Dino Rangers had been told that Dr. O needed some time alone. He told them that he had received some bad news from home and needed some time to deal with it. They stayed away.

Jason hadn't left Kim's side for much of anything. He wanted to make sure that she was okay. After all, he had promised Syd that her mother would be safe.

On the third day after the battle, Jason had gone for a walk in the woods and Tommy had taken over sitting with Kim.

"Kim, beautiful, wake up. Please," Jason heard Tommy pleading with Kim as he approached the bedroom. "Please wake up. I really want you to know that I still love you. I still do. No matter what happened between us." Jason turned and walked away from the room, not wanting to hear the confessions that Tommy was making. He knew that Tommy's tune would change once he found out about Sydney and Kim was going to bear the brunt of that.

Tommy heard Jason walk away from the doorway. He bolted up and followed his old friend. "Jason, please. If you know why she sent that letter, you have to tell me." He knew he was begging and right now he really didn't care. "Tell me something, man. If we were ever friends, tell me what happened."

Jason had had enough. For three days, Tommy had been trying to cajole the story out of the first Red Ranger and he snapped. "Gee, Tommy, where should I start? How about asking you about the fact that Kim came home for Christmas in 1995 and went back to Florida pregnant? Or maybe telling you about the night she called me in tears telling me that she lost her place on the team because she wouldn't abort your child? That's right. She sent you that letter because she didn't think you needed a baby stroller in your life right then! She wanted you to have your dreams and figured that you wouldn't be able to have that with a baby stroller in tow! She figured that if she told you, you'd have one of three reactions. The first was her dream come true; that you would tell her it didn't matter, take her back and raise the baby with her. The second was a nightmare for her; that you would try to take the baby from her. After all, she had no job and no real prospects at the time. The third reaction was the most plausible but still painful; that you'd sue for joint custody only having anything to do with her when it came to your daughter."

Suddenly, Jason was aware that he'd said too much. He shut his mouth and turned away from the man who'd been a brother to him for so long. "Or maybe I should just shut up now."

Tommy was shocked. He couldn't believe this. Jason had just told him that he was a father. Tommy collapsed onto the couch. "I'm a father?"

"That wasn't the optimal way to tell you. Kim made me promise that I wouldn't do that." Jason sighed as he sat down in the chair across from the couch. "I just couldn't stand the badgering anymore."

"I'm sorry, Jase. I didn't mean to make you break your promise to Kim." He looked at his old friend. "I really have a daughter?" Jason just nodded. "Do – do you have a picture of her?"

Jason pulled out his wallet. He flipped it to the picture of Kim and Syd and handed it to Tommy. "You'd be so proud of her Tommy. She's so much like her mother." Jason smiled like the proud uncle he was.

"She's beautiful. At least she got her looks from her mother." Tommy smiled weakly. "How old is she now?"

"Nine. And we can already tell that she's got both her mother and father's attitudes. She's been doing both martial arts and gymnastics since she was five and getting better all the time."

Jason got serious. "Since I've already broken my promise to not tell you about Syd, maybe I should just tell you the whole story."

"Would you?" Tommy looked hopeful. Jason nodded.

"Parts of it aren't pretty. I'll warn you of that much up front." Tommy nodded and Jason started the story. "You know that Sydney was born. What I didn't tell you was that the birth nearly killed Kim. She started bleeding out. It was almost as if she had given up as soon as Syd was safe. The doctors had been telling us throughout the pregnancy that Kim's health wasn't the best for carrying a baby. She had been underweight to begin with and didn't gain much weight while she was pregnant. We had to fight with her to get her to eat at times and she spent most of the pregnancy anemic. Her blood sugar was wildly erratic and she was always weak. The doctors weren't even sure if Sydney was going to make it at one point. The doctors managed to save Kim but she was weak for a long time after that."

Tommy looked almost heartbroken at what Jase was telling him. He had almost lost both the love of his life and his daughter. "Go on. Even though something tells me that this next part is going to piss me off."

"You're not wrong. Only two months after Syd was born, Kim was out shopping when she was captured by the Machine Empire. I was in Angel Grove at the time as the Gold Ranger. Zack called me because Trini just couldn't stop crying. I talked to Zordon and Billy and they helped me to locate her bio signature at the Moon Palace. I fought my way inside alone and found her. She had been chained to a wall, naked from the waist up and beaten. Her back looked like hamburger. I found out that the one who handled the whip was the person who had loved her more than anything. It was you, man. Prince Gasket encountered me at one point and told me just how viciously you had whipped her. He seemed thrilled. He ran from me but I was more worried about getting Kim out of there. I wrapped her in a blanket and had her teleported to the Power Chamber where Billy took her down to some deeper chambers where she was taken care of. I had to bite my tongue a lot during the two months that she was there. Billy had told me and had to remind me often that you didn't remember anything you had done while under Prince Gasket's brain drain device."

"I caused that kind of damage to Kim?" Tommy was crushed. He didn't think he could have ever hurt Kim. Let alone do that to her. He bowed his head.

"Should I stop there?" Jason didn't want to hurt his friend any more than he had but he knew that Tommy deserved the truth.

As Tommy shook his head, they both heard a voice from the doorway. "You should have never started Jason." They looked up to see Kim leaning against the doorway.

"Kim, are you alright?" Tommy looked away as Jason asked the question. He couldn't look in her eyes, knowing what he had done.

"I don't think I can walk any further." Kim felt the tears gathering in her eyes again. Tommy had looked away. He had to hate the sight of her now. After all, she had kept his daughter from him for nine years.

Jason got up to help her only to find Tommy there already. He picked her up and carried her to the couch. Jason decided that now was a good time to bail out.

"Kim, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't question the letter. I should have known that something was wrong when it came to the Youth Center. I should have tried to call you. I was just so upset that you had actually sent it. I couldn't think straight." Tommy sat next to her.

"I shouldn't have hidden Sydney from you. I should be the one saying I'm sorry. I should have told you the truth. I – I just wanted one of us to be able to reach their dreams and since I knew it wouldn't be me, I had to let it be you."

"Kim, you got scared. I can understand that. I'm scared right now. I'm so scared that you want nothing to do with me. I mean, after everything I've done to you, how could you even want to be around me?"

Both of them had tears running down their faces. "I guess we're both scared. We've both made mistakes in this relationship. Do you think we could try to work something out?" Kim sounded so hopeful. Maybe there was a chance for them after all.

"You don't hate me for letting you go? For the beating?"

"I could never hate you, Tommy. Not even for that. You had been brainwashed and you don't remember doing that to me. I know that."

"I'd like to think that there's still something there after all these years." Tommy wrapped an arm around Kim who simply leaned into him and smiled.

"There's always something there between us." She sounded sleepy and Tommy smiled. He stretched out on the couch and nestled Kim in between his legs with her head on his chest. The two of them drifted off just laying there each with a smile on their face. They had come home.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Just borrowing them.

SUMMARY: Tommy has just found out that he's a father. He just doesn't realize that his daughter was fighting next to her mother during a battle he had just finished with.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to those who wanted to see a continuation of the story.

* * *

Jason walked back into Tommy's house about an hour after he left. He stopped at the couch and saw that the two of them were sound asleep and wrapped in each other's arms. He picked up a light blanket from the chair nearby and draped it over his friends before heading upstairs to crash in Tommy's guest room.

* * *

Kim stretched. The first thing she noticed was that she was laying on top of someone. Then, the memories of the discussion she and Tommy had had flashed through her mind. 

'_I'm laying on top of Tommy. I'm here with Tommy,'_ she thought. She smiled and looked up to find two warm chocolate brown eyes looking down at her. He smiled at her.

"Hey, beautiful."

"Hey yourself, handsome." That sounded so good to her. The nicknames came to their lips without a thought. They just fell right back into it.

She sat up and moved down the couch just enough for him to do the same. They sat there next to each other in an awkward silence for a moment. "I'm hungry," they said at the same time.

Tommy got up and went into the kitchen. "Still like spaghetti?" he asked as he rummaged around in the cupboards.

"Love it. And since Sydney was born, I can really pack it away," she replied, following him into the kitchen. She stood in the doorway watching him as he started water and pulled a package out of the freezer and put it in the microwave to thaw.

"While I cook, will you tell me about her?" He turned to Kim with a hopeful look on his face.

She sighed and walked into the kitchen. Sitting down at the table, she buried her head in her hands. She sat like that for a few minutes before running her hands back through her hair and looking up at Tommy. "I guess I should start at the beginning."

She sighed again. "You remember when I came back for Christmas that year?"

"How could I forget? That night was the best one of my life. I've spent many nights staring at the walls just thinking about it."

"Me too." She smiled up at him. "Well, about a week after I got back to Florida, I found myself having a hard time keeping down food of any kind. It didn't seem to matter what time I ate, how bland the food was or how small a portion it was, it just wouldn't stay down."

"I'm sorry, Kim. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."

"It wasn't your fault. I never told you. When I found out that I was pregnant, I was scared. I was afraid to tell the coach. I knew that he wasn't going to be happy. Two weeks later, I passed out during a session on the uneven bars. There are basic tests that get run when a gymnast passes out. Coach found out that I was pregnant and he tore into me right in front of everyone. I ran out of the gym in tears and hid in the woods nearby."

Tommy wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Kim, I wish that you had just called me. I would have been there for you. You do know that, right?"

She leaned into the warm comfort of his arms. "I know that. That's part of the reason I didn't call you." She looked up at him. "How could I expect you to fix everything when I didn't even know how? My mother won't even talk to me. I called her the day after I was pulled from the team."

_**FLASHBACK 1996**_

"_Mommy?" Kim asked. _

"_Yes? Kimberly? Is that you?"  
_

"_It's me, Mom. Look I have a question to ask. Can I come live with you?"_

"_Why? What happened?" Caroline Dumas was firing questions at Kim faster than she could answer._

_When her mother paused to take a breath, Kimberly spoke up. "Mom, I lost my place on the team. I went back to Angel Grove for a Christmas visit." She took a deep breath. "Tommy and I slept together and I got pregnant."_

"_What?!? Are you crazy? Did you even think before you did such an irresponsible thing? Are you stupid? Throwing away your dream like that?" Caroline started yelling at her daughter in French and Kim was crying brokenly. "Do you plan on keeping the baby?"_

"_Of course I do. I can't get rid of Tommy's baby."_

"_Then you have no place here."_

"_Mommy, I have no where else to go! The coach won't let me stay in the dorms! Please, Mommy!"_

"_No! If you are going to go through with this, you will have to figure things out on your own." With that she hung up on Kimberly._

_**END FLASHBACK**_

Tommy set down the box of spaghetti and gripped the sink. _'Her own mother turned her back on her? How could she?'_

"I haven't spoken to her since. I send her a picture of Syd every year and every single year, it gets sent back to me. I've even tried calling her a couple of times. Jason's tried. But she just hangs up on us."

Tommy bent over Kimberly. "Kim, I'm so sorry. I can't believe that she did that to you."

But Kim pulled away from him. "Tommy, I appreciate the feeling of sympathy but I had to accept the fact that she just won't come around to this." She got up and walked around the table. "I just can't fix this. There's nothing for me to fix."

Tommy turned back to making dinner. He wasn't sure what to make of this Kim. She wasn't the one he had been in love with back in high school. She was colder somehow, distant.

She stepped to the back door and stood looking outside as she continued the story. "Anyway, the very next thing I did was call Jason. He told me that the conference was just about over and then the three of them would be coming straight to Florida to help out. The four of us got a place together and we started making things work."

"Jason said you were sick a lot."

"He wasn't wrong. During the first three months, I couldn't keep anything solid down. The doctor had me drinking juice, water, milk and Ensure. I couldn't even take the prenatal vitamins that I was supposed to. Everyone was worried about me. I was in and out of the hospital numerous times. The second three months were a little better. I could eat oatmeal and crackers. Not much else. I ended up in the hospital on an IV for the last three months. The doctor was really worried."

"I can see why," Tommy said, stirring the cooking hamburger.

"The day I went into labor was terrifying. I started feeling labor pains about three days before Sydney was actually born. But the day she was born, I felt my water break early in the day. The first serious pain after my water broke, I started screaming and didn't stop for hours. Jason stood beside me through the whole labor. I actually broke his hand. Zack's too. They had to have them bandaged while I was going through the last stages of labor. It was a good thing that labor went fast. Before I knew it, the doctor was telling me to push. Sydney's first cry was music to my ears. Jason and Zack were still down in the ER getting their hands taken care of when I started bleeding. The doctor immediately handed the baby off to one of the nurses and started trying to stop the bleeding."

She turned to look at Tommy only to see Jason standing in the doorway to the living room. "Jason told me that he and Zack were heading back toward the room when the call went out over the intercom."

"What call?" Tommy inquired, turning from where he was stirring the pasta.

"Code blue." Both Kim and Jason had spoken at the same time.


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: Still not mine. But man I wouldn't mind borrowing a couple of the guys for a while.

SUMMARY: Kim's telling Tommy about the birth of his daughter Sydney. Jason's also present. Tommy's making spaghetti. What's he going to say when he has the whole story about his daughter's birth?

A/N: Thank you to all of you that have reviewed this one. It's wonderful to log on and find so many reviews for a rather new story.

* * *

Tommy felt his heart sink. "What's a code blue?" He thought he knew what it was but he wanted to hear them say it.

"Death. It's the code used when a patient is no longer breathing with no heartbeat. Kim was technically dead." Jason looked at his friend and then looked back at Kim. "She was bleeding so much that she actually died. They got the bleeding stopped and brought her back, giving her blood through an IV. It wasn't pretty when they changed out the sheets and carried out the bloody ones to be taken care of." He looked down at his hands. "Zack and I were forced to wait out in the hallway with Trini while they saved her. But not ten minutes after they let us back in, Kim started bleeding again."

_**FLASHBACK 1996**_

_Kim was pale. She looked almost like a ghost. "Kim?" Trini asked, taking her best friend's hand. "Jason, she's cold. She's so cold." Jason picked up the other hand and noticed that her hands were as cold as could be._

"_Zack, call for the doctor. I don't think she's supposed to be this cold."_

_The doctor walked in and took Kim's hand from Trini to check her pulse. His eyes grew wide. "You three out now!" He turned to the nurse. "Code blue. Get me some help in here. She must be bleeding internally." He threw the covers back as the three friends stumbled back into the hallway to wait again._

_They wheeled Kim's gurney out of the room and down to surgery. Trini collapsed to the floor crying. Was she going to lose her best friend now? If Kim died, who would take care of Sydney? Jason knelt down on the floor and wrapped his arms around the Yellow Ranger._

"_Jase, what happens if she dies? Tommy doesn't know about Sydney and it wouldn't be fair to dump this on him."_

"_We'll take care of Sydney. And we'll tell him. Let him know that he has a daughter. Give him the chance to get to know her."_

_The three of them walked down to wait outside the surgery room door for news of Kimberly._

_Hours later, Doctor Michaela Drew walked through the doors to see three very worried faces. "Kimberly's going to pull through. It was touch and go for a while there. We lost her twice on the table before I could find the source of the bleeding. I was right. She was bleeding internally. It was pretty bad but we got things fixed and I double checked to make sure that there was no chance of any other ruptures. Of course, we'll keep a close eye on her for the next couple of days. And she probably won't be going home anytime too soon."_

"_What do we do about Sydney, her daughter?" Trini asked._

"_The baby will be staying here in the hospital with her mother just in case. Of course, since the three of you all have bracelets, you'll be able to see her and hold her as frequently as you like. And that I would encourage. The baby needs to have the interaction with you as does her mother."_

"_When can we see her?" Zack asked._

"_We plan on keeping her sedated for at least the next two days. But in about two hours, we'll probably transfer her back to her room and you can see her then. Now, I said that I want you to interact with both mother and baby. However, if at any time I think any one of you is endangering your health, I will ban you from her room and the nursery until I'm satisfied that you're taking care of yourselves. After all, she needs all of you to be strong for her. This is going to be a long road back."_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

"She wasn't kidding," Kim spoke up from the doorway. "I didn't get out of the hospital for a month after the birth. Jason had to leave before that time was up. That was when he came back here to be the Gold Ranger. Trini and Zack made up for the time that he was gone. They were with me all the time."

"Of course, there were a few times that I asked Billy to teleport me to Florida so that I could check up on Kim. That was when I had to confess to Zordon and Billy about what Kim had been through. They both promised to keep the secret. They had seen what you were like after the letter came and how you had slowly started living again. They didn't want you hurt again. They kept the secret the whole time."

"I can't believe it. They knew and never told me." Tommy was shocked. Kimberly had given birth to his daughter and had, in all actually, died three times because of it. He was glad that she was here to stand in front of him. "Jason, you should have told me. We've always been the best of friends."

"I won't let you take this out on him, Tommy," Kim said, quick to defend Jason. "He kept the secret for me. And after what happened a month after I got out of the hospital, he felt that he was right to."

"You were taken by the Machine Empire." Tommy's voice betrayed how he felt about that incident still. He had been brainwashed into believing that he was King of the Machine Empire and had almost killed the other Rangers. That was bad enough.

Tommy turned away from them and back to the meal he was cooking. He got supper finished and put on the table.

The three of them sat down to eat. Tommy didn't say another word throughout the meal. The guilt in his eyes was a damper on the whole evening.

* * *

SPD Headquarters 2025

"Hey Syd, what's up?" Bridge asked as he caught up with his teammate in the hallway.

"I just get the feeling that I'm forgetting something." Syd seemed rather distracted and it wasn't like her.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. I think it has something to do with my parents. I'm not sure." She looked around to make sure that no one was listening. "I keep having these dreams that I'm at a battle back in 2006 and I'm fighting beside my mother. We're both in Ranger gear and she seems so sad."

"They're just dreams. That's all. Don't let Kat or Doggie hear you talking like that. They might want you in for a mental eval." Bridge was worried. Syd didn't normally let things get to her. At least not any more.

"They don't feel like they're just dreams. They feel too real." She turned away from him. "I shouldn't have said anything. It's not like we can travel back in time anyway. So it couldn't have happened."

"Syd, I know that it's hard for you to believe that your parents had anything but your best interests at heart when they hid you away with the Space Patrol. I mean they changed your last name in order to protect you and everything."

Syd spun to stare at Bridge. "How do you know about that?"

"I kind of hacked the central computer when you started seeming so distracted about two weeks ago. This isn't like you, Syd. You've been crying in your sleep and even skipping out on sleep periods. Don't think we haven't noticed. We're all worried about you."

"I can't help it. In these dreams, I keep seeing her push me out of the way and take a hit that was meant for me. She falls, demorphed, and doesn't move after that. My uncle carries her away from me and my father leads the way back to his place. Bridge, what if something happened to her? What if that's why my Aunt Aisha brought me here?"

"Syd, stop this. You're getting yourself all worked up about nothing. Your parents hid you here for a reason. The only way to find out what that was is to find them and talk to them."

"Uncle Jason knows where they are I think. He told me once that they had gone into hiding somewhere that no one could ever find them."

"Why don't you call him? See what he can tell you?"

"I think I just might have to do that."

"Go ahead. He should tell you. I mean, after all, they are your parents." Bridge put his hand on the young woman's shoulder. "You have to try."

"I'm just kind of scared that he won't tell me anything that I don't already know."

When Syd bowed her head to hide the tears welling up in her eyes, Bridge just wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.

* * *

Reefside 2006

When dinner ended, the three friends sat down in the living room. For several minutes, an awkward silence reigned over the room.

Finally, Kim spoke. "Maybe we should just skip over the whole kidnapping incident."

"I want to know." Tommy was insistent. He knew it wouldn't be pretty but he needed to hear about it in order to move on.

"Tommy, are you sure, bro? I still have nightmares about it."

"Kim, tell me. Please."

"I never could resist when you turn those eyes on me." Kim took a deep breath and sighed. "About a month after I went home from the hospital, I needed to escape for a while. Everyone was so careful of me that it was driving me nuts. I went to the mall to do some shopping."

"She never told us that she was feeling smothered. Trini actually offered to go with her."

"I told her that while I appreciated the gesture, I needed a little time alone. I was walking near one of my favorite clothing stores when some of those little creatures showed up."

"Cogs. And Archerina was with them," Jason put in.

"Anyway, before I could even scream, they had grabbed me and taken me to the Moon Palace. They locked me in a cell and told me that the King of the Machine Empire would be in shortly to mete out my punishment. I screamed at them. I didn't know what was going on but I knew it had to be bad." She bowed her head. This next part was the part she didn't want to tell Tommy but he had insisted. "A few minutes later, you walked in. You were in full Ranger uniform but I knew it was you before you even said a word. You accused me of attempting to kidnap Prince Sprocket and trying to kill Prince Gasket. Then, you ordered Gasket to chain me facing the wall. You ripped the shirt from my back and I heard the sound of a whip cutting through the air." She swallowed hard and stood up from the couch, walking to the window. "Gasket asked why you would want to use such a primitive weapon to punish me for such grievous crimes. You told him that it was to leave a reminder to all who would attempt to stand against the Machine Empire of what would befall them if they were to try to harm the royal family. I kept begging you to snap out of it. I was afraid, afraid that I would die there and then what would happen to Sydney?" She turned back to look at Tommy. "The first lash hit, slicing deep. I only made it through the first ten lashes. At that point, I passed out and the next thing I knew, I was laying in the chambers below the Power Chamber being tended to by Billy and Alpha. Jason visited frequently. I begged him not to hurt you. Billy and I had to tell him repeatedly that you didn't know what you were doing when you hurt me and that you obviously didn't remember doing it. I didn't want you beating yourself up over the whole thing."

"Trini called me as soon as she realized that something was wrong. By that point, we had to try to find Kim. It took a while to find her bio signature. When we did, I teleported into the Palace. The first creature I ran into was Clank. He told me that Gasket had brainwashed you into believing that you were the King of the Machine Empire and that you had already punished one Ranger for crimes against the Royal Family. He laughed as he ran off to watch you punish the others. Kim's cell was only a few feet further down the hall. When I saw her hanging there against the wall, I screamed. I didn't even realize that I had done it until my voice went hoarse. Her back looked like hamburger, literally. I blasted the chains and wrapped her in the ratty blanket that was on the bunk in the cell. Calling for teleport, I returned to the Power Chamber and handed her off to Billy who spirited her away to the medical chambers below. She was there for two months before Billy and Alpha deemed her healed enough to return home. I had already returned to Florida but Billy called me to come and make the trip back with her. Zordon was nice enough to teleport me there and the two of us back. I felt so bad because Kim had missed so much of her daughter's first four months. If I had been there to protect her, she would have been there for Syd."

"But since then, everything's been better. Dulcea came to me in a dream and reactivated my Ninjetti spirit. She said that the Crane had never left me just subsided. She and Ninjor gave Trini, Zack and Jason their animals. Trini was an Osprey. Zack was a Lemur. Jason, he was a Lion. All four of us had full access to our Ninja spirits. We were able to use the Power when we needed it. Dulcea did tell me something that didn't register for a while afterwards." Kim looked at Tommy, puzzled.

"What is it, Kim? What did she say?"

"She said that I would have to teach the Falcon to soar and that the Phoenix would help. I didn't understand that before but maybe it refers to you, me and Sydney." Tommy shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to figure that one out."

Tommy stood up and walked over to her. "Maybe we can figure it out together?" He seemed to be reverting to the shy young man he had been when he first met Kimberly and the others.

Kim smiled at him, reminding him of the smile she had given him the day that he had chased off Bulk and Skull. "Maybe," she conceded.


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: Nope. Still not mine.

SUMMARY: Kim's told Tommy everything about Sydney. Or has she?

A/N: Thank you so much everyone for the hits and reviews. To date this has been one of my most popular stories.

* * *

Jason Scott's house 2025 

Sydney was standing nervously on her uncle's front porch. After all, she hadn't talked to her Uncle Jason since she was 18. But she had to ask him the questions screaming through her mind. She had to know why she felt like she was forgetting something about her parents and why she had forgotten it.

She knocked. It seemed to take forever before Jason Lee Scott opened the door and saw his "niece".

"Syd? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I need to talk to you, Uncle Jase. I have a problem and I don't know what to do about it."

She reminded him so much of Kim that he held out his hand. "Come on inside. We'll talk."

She followed him into the house. She hadn't been here in so long and yet nothing had changed since the last time she'd been here ten years ago.

_**FLASHBACK 2015**_

"_Uncle Jason, where are my parents? Why haven't I seen them? Where have they been for the past five years?"_

"_Syd, I wish I could tell you. I can't though. They made me promise not to tell anyone and that included you." Jason was exasperated. This young woman was just as tenacious as Kim and Tommy put together. How could explain that they had left the planet? They had hidden their daughter away at the Space Patrol Academy and left in order to give her a chance at a normal life. _

_He remembered the day that they had left. Kim had cried as they had placed young Sydney in the care of then Red Ranger Tate. He had reminded Tate that no one could ever know that she was the child of two of the most powerful Rangers of all time._

"_Why can't you tell me? Did they hate me that much that they had to dump me at the Academy like that?"_

"_Syd, what makes you think that they hated you?" Jason was shocked. His niece hadn't ever said anything like that._

"_They changed my last name and dumped me here five years ago and I haven't seen them since. What else am I supposed to think?" Sydney was yelling at her uncle now. "Never mind. You won't tell me. When you decide to tell me or my parents decide they need to see me, if they ever do, you know where to find me."_

_Syd had stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind her, leaving Jason to wish for the billionth time that his friends hadn't left him with the job of distracting their daughter from their disappearance._

_**END FLASHBACK**_

"What can I help you with, Syd?" The two of them sat down in the living room where they were surrounded by the history of the Power Rangers. Syd found her eyes drawn to the picture that she had always loved. It held in it her Aunt Trini, Aunt Aisha, Uncle Jason, Uncle Rocky and her mother. All five of them were gathered around a stroller where she was sitting.

"Lately, and I mean just in the past few days, I've been having the feeling that I'm forgetting something important. I get the feeling that it's something about my parents and I'm scared that it might be something about me too." Syd stood up and walked around the room. "I haven't slept in almost four days because of this feeling and the nightmares I had just after the day that I can't remember. I remember a wormhole but nothing else of the day. I was dreaming that night about Mom. We were fighting side by side in a battle. Dad and you were there too. Mom took a hit that was meant for me and fell, demorphed. She didn't move after that. I did my best to protect her. When the battle ended, you picked up Mom and Dad led you away to try to help her." She looked at her uncle who had a look of complete shock on his face. "What is it, Uncle Jase? What's wrong?" She knelt in front of the older man and took his hands. "Tell me, Uncle Jase. Tell me what's wrong."

"I told him not to use that thing. I told him it was dangerous." Jason shook his head. He looked straight into Sydney's eyes. "What you saw in your dreams weren't just dreams, Syd. They were suppressed memories. That battle actually took place and it's the catalyst that started bringing your parents back together." Jason sighed. "It was just four years later that your parents realized that they were the target of assassins from another time. They figured that the best thing they could do was to hide you in the SPD Academy and leave the planet. I know exactly where they are and I hope they'll forgive me for what I'm about to do." He stood up. "Lion Ninja Power!" he shouted, feeling the Power course through him as he morphed.

Sydney just sat back on her heels as she watched the morph flow over him as if he were still just eighteen. He took her hand and helped her up. "Follow me, Sydney." He led her down into his basement where he opened a false wall. He sat down in front of a computer screen. "This is the Lion. I need to speak with the Falcon and the Crane."

Kimberly's face filled the screen. "Jase, what's wrong?" Then, she saw her daughter behind him. "Sydney? Oh god, baby. Jason, what have you done?"

* * *

A/N: I know this one is short. But I figured it was a good place to end the chapter. 


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: The Power Rangers are not mine. I can dream though.

SUMMARY: Tommy's still having a hard time dealing with the news that he's a dad. But can he come around for his daughter?

* * *

**Reefside 2006**

Kim and Tommy were sitting on the couch and Jason was dozing in the chair.

"Is there any way that I can meet Sydney?" Tommy asked.

"Do you want her to come out here for Christmas this year?" Kim responded. Tommy looked at Kim in surprise.

"Do you mean it?"

"I do. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it."

Tommy looked down at his feet. "Would you come with her?"

Kim looked at him. "Would you want me to?" Her voice was almost too soft to be heard.

"I always want you with me. That's never been the question. The question's always been do you want me with you?"

"Always. I never stopped wanting you with me. The only reason I insisted on Jason not killing you after the kidnapping was because I couldn't picture the world without you in it."

"Guys, don't you think we should all get some sleep? It's been a long day and I know a nine-year-old who's getting kind of antsy for her mother to get home. She called twelve times yesterday alone."

"Twelve? That child is going to kill our long distance bill. And I'd like to know who gave her Tommy's number?" she asked, looking straight at Jason.

"She was worried. And it was the only way to get her in bed that first night."

Kim looked over at Tommy. "I'm sorry about that, Tommy. She tends to be almost as overprotective of me as you are."

Tommy chuckled as she gave him that look. "Nothing to be sorry about. I can't say that I blame her for being worried about her mother when you've missed so much even though she wasn't old enough to know."

"You'd be surprised, bro. She's a smart little cookie." Jason laughed. "You should have seen her first grade teacher when she started talking about the merits of martial arts and gymnastics. The teacher was ready to promote her to third grade right then. She presented such an organized argument that the teacher couldn't argue with it."

"The teacher begged me to allow her to advance a grade or two. I debated it for several days before deciding that it would probably be best for Sydney to let her jump a couple of grades." Kim smiled remembering how well Sydney actually got along with her third grade class.

"She's also had some of Billy's influence as far as her education," Jason told him. He laughed. "Now we just turn to her when we need Billy-speak translated."

Tommy was surprised. "Is Billy in Florida too?"

"Yeah. He came to us when he came back from Aquitar. He told us that there was nothing left in Angel Grove for him. So we settled him in. Aisha's staying there too. She's been great with Syd." Jason stood and yawned. "So what are the sleeping arrangements tonight?"

"I'll sleep here on the couch," Kim volunteered. She noticed that the guys were about to protest. "I'll fit better than either of you. And I'm usually up before either one of you. So no arguments. You two go."

"I guess we'd better do it, bro. She's got that look in her eyes." Jason headed for the stairs.

"Kim?" Tommy asked as she turned back to the couch.

"Yes, handsome?" she replied turning to face him once again.

"Sweet dreams." He headed up the stairs.

"I hope so," she whispered to the now empty room.

**

* * *

Jason Scott's House, Newtech City, 2025**

"It's not what I've done, Kim. The Commander used that damned device. I warned him not to use it. He suppressed everyone's memories of the day that SPD and Dino Thunder teamed up in 2006. Syd's memories decided to manifest in another way. I believe our little Phoenix has found her wings and now Momma has to teach her to fly."

Tommy stepped up behind Kim, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Can you bring her here, bro?"

Syd's eyes had filled with tears on seeing her mother again. They started falling when her father joined the picture. "Mommy? Dad?" With their daughter's reaction, it was easy for the two former Rangers to picture her as the little girl they had treasured so.

They still loved their daughter. They had walked away from her to protect her. Kimberly couldn't talk, seeing her beautiful little girl. Sydney could see the tears glistening on her mother's face through her own.

Jason put an arm around his niece's shoulders and pulled her in close. "We'll teleport shortly. I'll contact you just before."

Kimberly and Tommy both nodded. "Be careful, Sydney," Tommy said. "Remember we love you, baby." The screen went blank and Jason had to tighten his grip as Sydney nearly collapsed, crying.

He didn't say anything, just helped her to sit down in a chair and brought her a glass of water. When she calmed down, he would have to talk to her about all of this and figure out exactly what they were going to tell everyone about why she was leaving.

**

* * *

Tommy's house, Reefside, 2006**

As Tommy and Jason slept downstairs, Kim sat at the window sill looking out at the moon. Her mind was running wild and she knew that to sleep right now would be to dream. And her dreams would not be sweet.

But her exhaustion was catching up to her and the fact that she had been injured didn't help. She fell asleep at the window.

_She saw the dungeon as it had been the day they brought her there. She knew what she was about to see and wanted badly to wake up._

_The door clanged shut behind the frightened young woman with an awful finality. She knew where she was. What she didn't know was why. "What do you want with me?"_

"_Well, little Pink Ranger, you are here to face punishment for your crimes against the Machine Empire."_

"_What? What's the Machine Empire? What's going on here?" Her blood went cold. These were the enemies that Jason was helping Tommy with._

"_My King will be here shortly. And, in case you're wondering, you stand accused of attempting to kill Prince Gasket and attempting to kidnap Prince Sprocket." The creature in front of her cell laughed._

_He turned to bow and Kim followed his gaze to see the Red Zeo Ranger walking into the dungeon. 'Tommy?' Her mind couldn't believe that Tommy would be here of his own free will; not with all the bad memories this place held for him. "I see you grabbed her. Good. Chain her facing the wall!" he ordered, his beloved voice harsh and cold._

"_Tommy?" She had to try to break through to him. _

"_I am the King of the Machine Empire. You will address me with the proper respect," Tommy snarled. _

_  
Once Kim was solidly chained to the wall, the door to her cell was opened and Tommy walked in, carrying a whip. He grabbed the neck of her shirt and tore it from her body._

"_Tommy, what's going on? What are you doing?" Kim cried._

"_Sire, why are you going to use such a primitive weapon on this criminal?"_

"_Because, when I'm done, she'll serve as a reminder that the Machine Empire will not tolerate crimes against its Royal Family."_

"_Tommy, please snap out of it! Please! It's me, Kimberly! Don't do this, Tommy!"_

_The first lash of the whip struck the middle of Kim's back and she felt it bite deep. The blood started flowing with the first strike. She continued to plead with him in vain. He swung again and again. It wasn't easy to stay standing after just three. 'I have to get through this, for Sydney.'_

_After five, she was praying that the others would take good care of her baby. "Sydney, I'm sorry!" she screamed at the seventh stroke._

_By the tenth stroke, she was unconscious in her bonds. Tommy continued the beating until her back was completely covered by lashes._

_Tommy dropped the whip and walked to the door of the cell. "Leave her here until she regains consciousness. I may want to whip her some more. In the meantime, let's go and deal with the current Power Rangers."_

_Kimberly hadn't heard a thing after she blacked out. But somehow, she knew exactly what had gone on._

Kimberly screamed in her sleep, waking the two men upstairs who ran to the living room. Tommy saw her first, over by the window with her hands raised above her head as if she was still chained. By her posture, he knew what her nightmare was about. She had watched him beat her again.

Jason ran to her side and lowered her arms before pulling her into his lap. "Sis, wake up. Wake up, sis. Please."

He stroked the hair out of her face and nestled her head into his shoulder. "Come on, Kimmie. Wake up."

She stirred against Jason's chest after about another ten minutes of him soothing her. Tommy had left the house. He couldn't stand her crying about her back and wanting Sydney as Jason held her.

"Jason?" Kim asked as she lifted her head from his shoulder.

"I'm here, sis. Are you awake?"

"Kind of." She sat up. "Please tell me that Tommy slept through that."

"I wish I could. He left the house just a couple of minutes after we ran down here after hearing you scream in your sleep."

"How long did it take you to wake me up?"

"Almost ten minutes."

"I need to find him. I need to make sure that he understands that I don't blame him. Help me, Jase. Please." She stood up to go after Tommy. "I want Sydney here. I want her to meet her father now. Will you have 'Sha bring her here?"

"Now, Kim? It's midnight here. That makes it four in the morning there."

"Now. Maybe Sydney can help me get through to him." Jason nodded and went to get his communicator from the bedroom. Kim opened the front door and stood there for a moment, just staring off into the night.


	6. Chapter 6

DISCLAIMER: Nope still not mine. Wouldn't it be nice though.

SUMMARY: Tommy's run off into the night after seeing Kim locked in a nightmare about the whipping. Kim asked Jason to get Aisha to bring Sydney to Reefside in an effort to make sure that Tommy knows that Kim doesn't blame him.

A/N: Thank you all for the great reviews. I look forward to seeing what you guys have to tell me. Please keep them coming.

* * *

Kim waited at the door for a moment, staring out into the darkness. "Where are you, handsome?"

She stepped out and down the steps. She headed into the woods.

* * *

"Tommy? Tommy!" she called. She had no clue as to where to look for him. She just kept walking. "Tommy! Please! Please come out!"

"Kimberly?"

"Tommy? Tommy, talk to me!" A figure came out from behind a tree about fifteen yards away from her. "Tommy, is that you?"

"It's me. What are you doing out here?"

"Looking for you. Come back to the house. Let's talk." She started toward him.

"I can't." He stepped back from her. She bowed her head and tried to hide the hurt in her eyes.

"Why not?"

"Kim, don't. I need you to turn around and go back."

"Not without you. Aisha's bringing Sydney out."

"I don't want to hurt you again." Kim got angry at that.

"Fine. When you decide to stop hiding, all of us will be at the house." She stormed away from him. Tommy turned around and sat down on the log he'd been sitting on when she came after him.

'_How can she want to be around me? Especially after what I did to her?'_

* * *

Back at Tommy's house, Jason was sitting on the couch waiting for Aisha to bring Sydney to the house. She had told him it would be about an hour to an hour and a half.

When Aisha and Sydney teleported in, Sydney all but attacked her uncle. She started climbing all over him like a little monkey. "I think maybe Dulcea was mistaken. Syd's not a Phoenix. She's a monkey," Jason laughed.

"Uncle Jason, where's Mommy?" she asked, stopping right in front of him.

"She's out looking for your daddy."

"This is my daddy's house?" The little one stood completely still. "Is it really okay that we're here?" Her voice quavered with a touch of fear.

"Now, Syd, you're not scared are you?" Jason asked, pulling his niece into his lap.

"I don't know my daddy. Is he nice?" Tommy stopped in the doorway when he heard the child asking about him.

"He's very nice, sweetie," Aisha said, hunkering down in front of the child. "He's very protective of those he cares about."

"Like Uncle Jason?"

"Just like. Probably more so with you because he's your daddy."

Tommy looked around, realizing that Kim wasn't in the room.

"Jason." Setting Syd on her feet, Jason stood up and turned to his friend. Sydney shyly hid behind his legs.

"Where's Kim?" he asked, noticing that the petite Ranger hadn't come in with him.

"I told her to come back here. She got a little mad at me."

"She hasn't come back yet." Tommy's protective side came out.

"Aisha, will you stay here in case she comes back? Jase and I can go look for her."

Sydney walked up to Tommy timidly and tugged on his hand. When he looked down at her, she asked, "Are you going to take care of my Mommy?"

"I'd like to, sweetheart. She's fighting me though." He dropped to one knee in front of the child. "You must be Sydney."

"How do you know?"

"Your Uncle Jason and your mom have told me a lot about you. Your mom is so proud of you and loves you very much."

"Will you bring her back for me?"

"I will. No matter what else happens, I will bring her back to you." Tommy noticed that Syd was chewing on her bottom lip. "What else do you want to ask, honey?"

"How do you know that I want to ask you something else?"

"You're chewing on your lip. Your mommy does the same thing when she wants to ask a question but doesn't quite know how." Tommy smiled at her when she blushed.

"Are you my daddy?"

"Yes, sweetie. I'm your daddy."

Syd started crying. "Where have you been? Mommy needed you. Where were you?"

"Syd, honey, Mommy didn't tell Daddy that she was going to have you. That's why Daddy wasn't there." Aisha was trying to pull the little one away from Tommy. She had known this was coming and hated to see the pain that crossed Tommy's face at the innocent question.

"If I had known you were coming into this world, nothing, and I mean nothing, would have kept me from you. I would have been beside your mommy the whole time and I would have been there for you from the start. I want to be there now. Is that okay?"

"You won't leave us?" He saw the fear in his daughter's eyes and wanted to gather her close and wipe that fear from her expression.

"Not if I have anything to say about it. Now how about you help your aunt keep an eye on the house while Jason and I go find Mommy? Can you do that for me?" The little girl nodded and Tommy held his arms out for a hug. She went into his arms and he felt the contentment wash over him as he held his daughter for the first time. He set her back down on her feet and turned to Jason. "Let's go find Kim."


	7. Chapter 7

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. But I can dream can't I?

SUMMARY: Tommy's met his daughter and is now out looking for Kimberly who managed to get herself lost out in the woods surrounding Tommy's house.

A/N: Having fun yet? I am. My muse has me working on three different stories all at the same time. It's a wonder I can even sleep with the stuff he's funneling through my brain.

* * *

Kimberly looked around herself and threw her hands up in defeat. _'Brilliant move, Hart. Run off angry and not pay attention to where you're going. Get lost in the woods around your ex's house. Have you ever done anything else that stupid?'_

"Not really." She took a deep breath. "Tommy! Tommy, please help me!" she screamed.

"I'll help you," a voice whispered from behind her. She turned to see the creature that Tommy had fought earlier that week.

"You're that thing that Tommy fought."

"My name is Zeltrax. And yes, Dr. Oliver and I fight a lot these days." He stepped closer to her. "Now I can destroy Tommy Oliver by destroying you."

Kimberly drew herself up a little taller. "Better creeps than you have tried and failed." She reached her hand toward the sky. "Crane Ninja Power!"

She felt the Power flow through her as she morphed. "So this would be the original Pink Ranger then?"

"Yeah. And I've had a really bad night so far." She took her stance. "So I'm in a mood to kick some ugly butt."

Zeltrax gave her a decent fight up to the point when he tripped her. Before she could roll out of the way, he kicked her soundly in the ribs. She screamed as she felt them crack. _'I have to get up. I'm a sitting duck here.'_

The towering creature over her placed his foot on the side of her head and pressed.

* * *

Tommy heard the screams coming from a short distance away. He ran toward them, pulling up short when he saw Kim lying on the ground with Zeltrax's foot on her head.

"Get away from her, Zeltrax!" he shouted. "This battle is between you and me."

"I think we should just bring her in on it. What do you think?" He pressed harder on Kimberly's head.

"Let her go, Zeltrax!"

Suddenly, Zeltrax was knocked clear of Kimberly from behind by Jason. He had heard Kim's screams and Tommy's yelling which led him straight to a scene out of his worst nightmares.

"Leave my sister alone!" he bit out as he helped Kim up and over to Tommy. Tommy noticed she was limping and held out his arm, allowing her to lean on him.

"Jason, take her back to the house."

"I can't leave you here alone with this thing."

"Jase, I'll take care of him. I think there's a very good reason for you to take her back to the house."

"There is but YOU made a promise to bring her back." Jason kept his eyes on Zeltrax as he said the next part. "Besides, you've already got her."

Suddenly, Zeltrax was gone. He had jumped into an invisiportal and disappeared.

"I guess we'll all head back," Kimberly said just before her legs gave out completely.

Tommy swept her up into his arms and they headed back toward the house. He pressed his lips to her forehead. "I'm sorry, Kim. I wasn't trying to be difficult. I just needed some time to think."

"Just take me back to the house. My ribs are killing me. That creep kicked me and I'm pretty sure he broke some."

Tommy just looked at Jason and headed back to the house.


	8. Chapter 8

DISCLAIMER: Nope. Still just dreaming of owning them.

SUMMARY: Kim, Jase and Tommy are heading back to Tommy's house. Kim's injured again and Tommy's finally met his daughter.

A/N: Sorry it took a while to update this one but you guys know how this goes.

**

* * *

Jason Scott's house, Newtech City, 2025**

"Sydney, we have to leave the planet. What are you going to tell Commander Cruger?"

"I don't know. Wait a minute. My parents need my help so I have to leave SPD for a while and I'm not sure just how long I'll have to be gone."

"Do you really think that would work?"

"The Commander will just have to understand that I have to go. I'll turn in my morpher so they stand a chance of finding a new Pink Ranger to replace me while I'm gone if not permanently." Sydney looked up at her uncle with a look that Jason remembered seeing on Kimberly's face many, many times.

He chuckled. "You look so much like your mother when you do that."

"Do I really? Am I going to get to see them?"

"Yes. You certainly are, sweetie. Let's go talk to Commander Cruger." He put an arm around his niece and they headed out to break the news to the commander of the SPD.

**

* * *

Phaedos, 2025**

"Tommy, do you think it's wise to bring Sydney here?"

"Kim, if the commander used the device on our daughter and her memories have found the way to circumvent that problem, we need to teach her how to use her powers before they can take her over and totally destroy everything around her." Dulcea had warned them when Syd was younger that they would have to teach her how to use her powers unless they wanted to be responsible for her destroying the world as they know it.

Sydney would be a very important player in the battles ahead. That was something that Kim had known from the day Dulcea had told her that Sydney was the Phoenix. Why else would her daughter have a legendary creature for her Spirit Animal?

"Dulcea!" Kim called, wanting the Master Warrior of Phaedos to know.

"I already know, Kimberly. The Phoenix is coming home. It will be good to see her again."

"It will. I don't know if bringing her here is such a good idea though. I'm afraid that the assassins will find her before Jason can bring her."

"That won't be a problem, Kim. They'll be here just shortly. Jason just called. He and Syd are on their way to talk to Commander Cruger and then they're teleporting from there to here." Tommy walked up to Kim and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned into him and sighed.

"I've been so scared these past five years. I can't believe that in just a few minutes I'm going to be able to hold my daughter for the first time in so long." Kim's tears started falling and she just turned into Tommy's chest.

Tommy just stood there holding his wife as she cried for the lost years with their daughter.

**

* * *

SPD Headquarters, New Tech City, 2025**

"I need to see Commander Cruger," Jason said to the youngster sitting at the desk in front of Cruger's office.

"Who may I say is --?"

"Jason Scott, it's a pleasure to see you again," Commander Cruger said, coming out of his office and holding out a paw for the man to shake.

"Same here, Doggy. Can we talk for a moment?" Anubis Cruger nodded and gestured for Jason and Sydney to come into the office.

"What's up, Jason?" He looked at Sydney closely. "What's wrong, Sydney?"

"We got word from her parents today, Doggy. Her real parents and they need her off world for a while. We aren't sure how long but we need to leave right away."

Doggy watched as Syd took the communicator off her wrist and held it out to him. "I think it's best to give you this, sir. I don't know when I'll be back so it would probably be best for the team to select a new Pink Ranger. At least for now."

"Sydney, I don't think that's necessary. Your team will be fine for a while. If it looks like you're going to be gone too long, then we can talk about this." Doggy could almost smell the salt of Sydney's tears as she thought about leaving the team.

"Are you sure, commander?"

"I'm sure, Sydney. You've been an integral part of this team from the start and I'm proud to have you as our Pink Ranger." Doggy held out a paw for Sydney to shake. She shook it and then reached out and gave the Sirian a hug, taking him by surprise.

"Thank you, Commander. Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me." When she pulled back with tears in her eyes, Doggy smiled.

"I think I have some idea. Jason, take good care of our Ranger while she's away. I expect you to bring her back in one piece."

"I will, Doggy. Just don't forget; I won't be the only one watching out for her."

"Just one quick question before you leave. I know she's Ninjetti born; who are her parents?"

"Kimberly and Tommy Oliver. This is the Phoenix, daughter of the Falcon and the Crane." Jason was proud to announce his niece's heritage. She was after all the first child born of two Rangers in a long time.

Doggy turned to Syd again and bowed. "It has truly been an honor to work with you, Sydney. More than I ever realized."

"Commander, don't do that." Sydney was embarrassed. She hadn't expected such a reaction from her commander.

"You might want to get used to that kind of reaction," Doggy said, standing upright. "A lot of people will react that way when they find out who you are."

The glass in the door shattered under the impact of a shot fired from halfway across the front room. Jason had stepped in front of Syd just as the shot was fired and took the bullet in his left arm. "Got to go, Doggy. Talk to you later," he bit out as he grabbed Syd and teleported out.

Sky grabbed the shooter as Bridge looked into the office to see Sydney's stricken face as her uncle grabbed her and teleported them out. He had seen the blood on Jason's arm. "Good luck, Syd," Bridge whispered as he helped Sky subdue the shooter in order to find out what was going on.

**

* * *

Jason Scott's house, New Tech City, 2025**

Jason wrapped his arm quickly just before spiriting Syd away to the basement. He flipped a couple of switches just inside the basement door and stepped in front of the console again. "Tommy, we're on our way. I had to put the contingency plan into action. Teleporting now." He took Syd's hand and teleported out just before the house blew up, obliterating all signs of any Ranger-related activities.

_**And today in major news, the home of Jason Scott, oldest living Power Ranger, exploded early this afternoon. It has been reported that Scott was being visited by Sydney Drew, the current Pink Ranger at SPD. Neither have been seen, however two bodies have been recovered from the rubble which had previously housed greatness. Both bodies are pending identification but it is assumed that they are Jason Lee Scott and Sydney Drew. **_

**_We will bring you more on this story as it develops. This is Rebecca Cranston for Channel 7 News. Now back to our studio._**


	9. Chapter 9

DISCLAIMER: Nope still not mine. I sure as hell wouldn't be working at Wal-mart if I owned these characters.

SUMMARY: Jason has taken Sydney to Phaedos and been shot for his trouble. What will Kim say when she sees the wound? Will Sydney be safe on Phaedos?

A/N: To Starlight63, everything will be explained in time. Glad you like the cliffhanger. LOL. To everyone else, thanks for reading, it allows me to keep going.

**

* * *

Phaedos, 2025**

Kim and Tommy were standing by when Jason and Sydney teleported in. Tommy caught Jase just before he collapsed to the ground. Kim grabbed her daughter and pulled her into a tight hug which Syd was quick to return.

"Kim, we need to take care of Jason." Tommy's voice reminded the woman that more than one person had arrived at the same time. "He's been shot."

"Oh God! Jase, what happened?"

"I got lucky and stepped in front of a bullet I'm sure was meant for Syd. I was going to shake Commander Cruger's hand for allowing Syd to keep her morpher even when we left for a while and felt the bullet hit. I kept quiet about it, not wanting to worry Syd."

"Uncle Jason, you should have said something. I would have helped you dress it properly."

"There wasn't time. I had to blow the house."

"WHAT?" Kim shouted. "That house was Sydney's sanctuary on earth!"

"Kim, I had to cover our tracks. I only did it because I knew that they had found her and put things together. Tommy and I had made the plan to blow the house a long time ago. It was our way of protecting Syd in case someone figured out who she was. The house was completely vaporized. Except for the two bodies found in the rubble. Everyone will assume that Syd and I died in the explosion. She's safe now."

"Jason didn't want to do that because he loved that house, Kim. He did it for our daughter. He wanted to protect Sydney. After all, that's why he agreed to stay in New Tech City when we left. He stayed so that she'd have somewhere to go."

Sydney knelt down beside Jason and placed a hand over his wound. "Uncle Jason, relax. Okay? I want to try something." She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths.

Kim watched in amazement as the bullet came out of Jason's arm and fell to the ground. The wound started to close but reopened when Sydney wavered in her concentration. The young woman nearly fell backward before her father caught her.

Dulcea stepped forward. "It's true. The Phoenix has come home at last."


	10. Chapter 10

DISCLAIMER: Nope still not mine. How can I tell? Because I'm still sitting in a little house in the middle of Kansas and typing this.

SUMMARY: Sydney's on Phaedos in 2025 with her parents. Jason blew up his own house. What will the others think when they hear the news?

A/N: I know that the jumping gets confusing at times but I hope that everyone will stay tuned. I promise things will clear up eventually. I don't know why JD insists that it has to be this way.

**

* * *

New Tech City, 2025**

"Oh My God!" Z exclaimed as she watched the news broadcast. "Guys, come quick! Syd's uncle's house just blew up. They found two bodies in the rubble and they're working on the assumption that it's them. Oh God, Syd's dead."

Sky didn't know what to make of the news. He simply slumped down in the nearest seat, his face a mask of shock and disbelief. Bridge simply shook his head.

"Not Syd. Syd can't be dead. Not like that."

Commander Cruger walked out of his office to find his Rangers staring at the television screen. He watched as the channel replayed the announcement about Jason Scott's house. He bowed his head in respect for his old friend.

"He was a great man. I held him in the highest regard. Sydney was a great Ranger. I am sorry to see this happen to her. She had so much of life left to live."

The phone in Doggie's office started to ring. He went in to face the flood of phone calls that he knew he was about to face regarding the explosion at Jason's house. He knew most of them would be the press. It wasn't the press he was worried about: it was the former Rangers that would be calling that he worried about.

**

* * *

Stone Canyon, 2025**

"BILLY!" The shout rang through the huge house. Billy Cranston ran into to the kitchen where Kat stood with the phone in her hand.

"What happened, Kat? What's wrong?" The look on his face terrified him. The last time he had seen that look on her face it had been on hearing that Kim and Tommy had been killed by an assassin because of that damn prophecy.

Kat didn't answer him so he took the phone and put it to his ear. He heard sobbing on the other end. "Who is this?" he demanded.

"Daddy, have you been watching the news? Uncle Jason's house blew up and Syd was there. They found - - - -" The voice on the other end broke and couldn't continue for a moment. "They found two bodies. They were burned beyond recognition but they're assuming for now that they both died in the explosion. The explosion happened in the basement. I heard that everything down there was vaporized." She broke again.

"Rebecca. Becky, honey, I want you to calm down. Okay? Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be functional." Rebecca's sniffles subsided a little.

"Come home as soon as you can. We'll find out what's happening one way or the other. Come home. Your mother and I need you here."

"I will, Daddy. I'll see you soon." The young woman hung up the phone and Billy turned to his wife.

"Kat? Kat, honey, look at me. Kat, please." His voice finally broke through to her and she fell to her knees, sobbing.

"It's not fair!" she cried. "We lost them fifteen years ago. But to lose Sydney and Jason like that- Why? Who would want to hurt them?"

"I wish I knew, Kat. I wish I knew." Billy sank to his knees beside her and pulled her into his arms as they both cried for the friends they believed lost.

* * *

Aisha and Rocky had just arrived home and were watching some TV as they warmed up leftovers for dinner. The news came on and Rocky reached for the remote just as the story started airing again.

The Ape and the Bear felt their hearts break as they watched the news of Jason and Sydney's apparent death. They forgot all about dinner as they held each other crying for their friends.

* * *

Adam Park knocked on his girlfriend's door in shock. Tanya opened the door with tears in her eyes. She had seen the news. Seeing that Adam was barely able to walk, she grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. They moved to the couch.

"They shouldn't have died like that. Jason was supposed to be indestructible. He was the original Red Ranger. And Sydney was still so young." Adam's monotone voice frightened Tanya. She had never seen her fiancé like this, not even when Kim and Tommy had died.

"Adam, don't. Please don't drift away from me like this." Tanya's tears flowed freely again. Her broken sobs cut through the shock and Adam turned to her, wrapping his arms around the woman he hoped he would never lose.

* * *

Andros sat in his office working hard on the report in front of him. When his phone rang, he just looked at it in annoyance for a moment.

It rang a second time and he picked it up. "Andros."

"Andros," his sister's tearful voice had him immediately alert. She and Zhane had been staying with Andros and Ashley for a while. Ashley was expecting and she'd been having a difficult pregnancy. Karone and Zhane were keeping an eye on her while Andros was at work.

"What happened, Karone?"

"Ashley went into labor. She was watching television in the bedroom and we heard her scream. Zhane reached her first and called for the medics the second he realized what had happened. I was frozen by the sight of the news report airing on the screen. Andros, Jason Scott died in an explosion today. His niece, Sydney, of the SPD was there visiting him. Both are dead."

"What?" Andros went into shock. The assassins had found out about Sydney. Did she and Jason make it out before the explosion? "Is Ashley alright?"

"She is and the twins are fine. Healthy girls. Ashley said you two wanted to name them Kimberly Anne and Katrina Leander?"

"As a fitting tribute to the original Pink and Yellow Rangers of Earth." Andros smiled sadly. And now, he had to deal with the thought of never seeing Jason or Sydney again.

He had known about the house, had helped set up the contingency plan just after Kim and Tommy left the planet. He couldn't believe that Jason had died in that explosion. The two had to have gotten out okay. Maybe he needed to make a trip to Phaedos.

"I'll be there shortly, Karone. Tell Ash that I love her and I'll be right there."

As Andros packed up his things to go talk to his boss about what had happened, his thoughts wandered to his friends. _'Jason, you and Sydney had better have made it out alive and alright. Or else I'll have something to say the next time I see you.'_


	11. Chapter 11

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. A girl can dream though can't she?

SUMMARY: Sydney and Jason have arrived on Phaedos and the other Rangers are still in shock over what they think is another pair of Ranger deaths on Earth.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update this one. It's been kind of hard to piece together this part of the story. I had to do some hard thinking, especially since JD didn't seem to want to help me any on it.

**

* * *

Phaedos 2025**

Sydney relaxed in her father's arms for a moment before sitting up a little. "Thanks, Dad." She chuckled, looking up at her mother. "Now I remember why you always told me not to do that."

Tommy didn't want to let go of his daughter. He hadn't seen her in so long that he just wanted her close.

"Tommy, I think you should let go of her. We'll show her to a room and she can rest before we start training her to use and control her powers." Kim giggled at the look on Tommy's face. It said 'Do I have to?'

"Falcon, the Phoenix must be well rested before she begins to learn the true extent of her powers." Dulcea's quiet voice made Tommy nod.

"Of course, Dulcea. I've just missed my daughter so much. And that reminded me of the first time she healed anyone in front of me. Do you remember, Kim?"

"Of course I do. It was the night Zeltrax had caught me in the woods outside your house and you and Jase had to save me."

_**FLASHBACK**_

_**Reefside 2006**_

_Tommy walked into the house with Kim in his arms. Sydney ran up to him._

"_Mommy? What happened? Why are you carrying her?"_

"_Mommy will be fine, baby. I'm just tired." Kim spoke from Tommy's arms. She reached a hand down for her daughter to take a hold of._

_Sitting down on the couch, Tommy set Kim down beside him and Syd climbed up beside her mother. "Mommy, you're hurt." The tiny blonde put one hand on each side of her mother's ribs. Kim felt the warmth spread through her as her ribs knitted back together. _

_Tommy watched in amazement as Kimberly started taking deeper breaths. Suddenly, Syd collapsed against Kim's side. "Syd? Sydney?" He reached across Kim and picked up his daughter, cradling her close to his chest. "What happened? What did she do?"_

"_She healed me. It takes a lot out of her. Thankfully, she doesn't do it that often. I've told her not to because I hate to see her like that."_

"_Is she alright?"_

"_She will be fine, Falcon," Dulcea's voice rang through the room._

_Tommy looked up at the Master Warrior of Phaedos. "How are you here?"_

"_It is only an image. I felt Kimberly's distress and decided to see if I could help." She turned to the petite young woman. "The more appropriate question is: How are you, young Crane?"_

"_I've been upset tonight, Dulcea. My nightmares returned. Being here brought back some unpleasant memories. I had to face Tommy finding out about what happened and telling him about Sydney."  
_

"_She got lost in the woods and faced one of my enemies who injured her. Sydney healed her."_

_Dulcea's image bent over the nine-year-old in her father's arms. "Wake up, little Phoenix. Your father is worried."  
_

_Tommy looked at Dulcea. "Phoenix?"_

"_As the new phoenix is born from the ashes of the old, your new love for Kimberly was born from the ashes of what you felt when you were younger. Sydney is now the living embodiment of that rebirth." Tommy thought for a moment and realized just how right Dulcea was._

"_Daddy?" He looked down into his daughter's sleepy eyes. "Don't worry. Mommy and I both love you. I'm okay."_

"_I know, baby girl. I love both of you. Rest now, sweetheart. We're here and you're safe." He kissed her on the forehead._

"_Okay, Daddy." Her eyes closed and the little girl snuggled against his chest. She was asleep again almost immediately._

"_She already feels comfortable with you." Kim smiled at Tommy who returned her smile._

_**FLASHBACK ENDS**_

**Phaedos 2025**

"I remember that night. You were being so stubborn." Kim giggled as Tommy chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah and so were you, sis." Jason's voice reminded the couple that their friend was still injured.

"Sorry, Jase." Kim knelt beside her long-time friend, her face bright red. She helped Jason stop the bleeding before helping him to his feet and leading him off to a room to rest.

"I'm really getting too old for this," Jason groused as he walked with Kimberly down the hallway.

"Hello, Jason." A big blue guy suddenly stood in front of Jason and Kim. Tommy was slightly behind them helping Sydney.

"Ninjor. Long time no see."

"I know. I thought you would like to know that word has spread that both you and Sydney died in the blast. The other Rangers are grieving for you, my friend."

"I hope Andros doesn't try to contact us. That might ruin the entire ruse."

"I believe he will wait to see if he can find a way to slip away and come here to find out if the two of you still live."

"I hope so. If he doesn't, everything we've done to protect Sydney will be for nothing."


	12. Chapter 12

DISCLAIMER: Nope not mine.

SUMMARY: All the Rangers on Earth save one think that Sydney and Jason have died in an explosion. Will he tell anyone else? Will he be able to find out if Sydney and Jason are safe?

A/N: I know it's been a really long time since I worked on this. I finally figured out this chapter and part of the next one.

* * *

Andros sat in the hospital room next to his wife while his sister and her husband sat out in the waiting room. "Ash, don't worry. I think I know what happened and I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

The tears filling Ashley's eyes broke Andros' heart. He never could stand to see his love cry. "It's not fair, Andros. Sydney was so young and had been through so much. She lost her parents and after so short a time of having them together."

Andros wrapped his arms around his wife. _'You'd better be safe on Phaedos with Kimberly and Tommy, Jason. And their daughter had better be there with you. Otherwise, you will have more than just the Falcon and the Crane to deal with.'_

* * *

"Billy, where are you going?" Kat's voice was laced with tears.

"I have to go down to the Academy and talked to Commander Cruger. He promised me that he would help me find the bastards that took Syd and Jason from us. He's not going to shut us out."

"Be careful, Daddy," Becky said from where she sat on the couch. "I don't want to lose you too."

"You won't, honey. I'll be back. For now, I'm just coordinating with the Commander to help set up the investigation. He wants to include any and all old Rangers that want to help." Billy grabbed his bag and headed for the door, stopping there in order to look back at his wife and daughter as they comforted each other.

**

* * *

Phaedos**

Tommy and Kimberly sat under the rising moon of the planet they now called home as they held each other so closely.

"I can't believe she's really here, Tommy. I never thought I'd get this chance so soon."

"I know, Kim. But we have to remember that she's going to be coming into full power and will need all of our guidance." Tommy had his arms wrapped around the woman he loved. "I know how hard it will be but we have to keep her focused."

"I just want to spend a little time with her as her mother, Tommy. I didn't get a lot of that in the past few years."

"Kim, I want to be able to just be her father for a while too. But we have to get her trained for her future." Tommy wanted to make Kim see and yet he could see her point.

"You will get time for both, my young friends." Dulcea stood behind them and simply observed the couple who had lived under her tutelage for so long.

"Will we really, Dulcea? She's still our baby girl. We still love her." Kimberly knew some of what was coming and didn't see how they would have time for being her parents when they had to prepare her.

"And your love will be what sees her through the trials ahead. I think you should get some sleep since tomorrow begins Sydney's training."

Tommy and Kimberly nodded and went inside to try to sleep.

Dulcea smiled after them, knowing that, once they made themselves comfortable in their own bed, they would fall asleep quickly enough.

**

* * *

Earth 2025**

"Ash, Leo called from Mirinoi. They need some help out there. Billy and I are leaving tomorrow morning."

"But the twins aren't even two weeks old yet, Andros. Why do you have to go right now?" Ashley couldn't help but whine. Her daughters were still in the hospital and now her husband was leaving the planet in order to help out Rangers somewhere else.

"Ashley, honey, you know that Leo wouldn't have called unless he really needed the help. He made you that promise, remember?"

"I know. But we haven't even brought the girls home yet. What happens if you don't come home?"

"I will come home. And I will as soon as I can." He kissed her on the cheek and went into their bedroom to pack. _'I promise that I'll also come back with news on Jason and Sydney and maybe with them and Kimberly and Tommy as well. It must almost be time.'_

Billy and Andros met up at the launch station the next morning and shook hands as they boarded the MegaShip. Billy sighed as the ship took off, almost glad to be finding out the answers to so many questions that he had.

"Billy, you realize that we won't be staying on Mirinoi?"

"I did find it rather perplexing that you would want me to come with you and none of the other former Rangers to Mirinoi. I was hoping that this would be my chance to obtain some of the answers to questions I have had for the past several years."

"I think I can give you those answers."


	13. Chapter 13

**EARTH 2006**

"Mommy?" The little voice rang clearly in Kimberly's ear as she rolled over in the bed she'd been sleeping in for the past several days. The events of the previous night rushed back to her as she stretched and realized that she wasn't even the least bit sore.

"Sydney, come on. Let mommy sleep." Jason's voice was deep and almost as sleepy as hers would have been.

"But, Uncle Jason, my belly hurts." Sydney's voice had almost reached a whiny note and Kimberly knew that something had to be wrong. Syd never whined.

Sitting upright in the bed, Kimberly pulled her daughter onto her lap. "Where does it hurt, baby?"

Sydney rubbed her belly and looked up at her mother. "Mommy, my belly hurts really bad." Tears were welling up in the child's eyes.

"Jason, we need to take her to the doctor's office." Kimberly was starting to worry. Sydney normally didn't complain about anything. When she was hurt, she usually hid it from everyone.

"What's wrong?" asked Tommy coming through the doorway.

"Daddy, my belly hurts." Sydney turned and held her hands up to her Daddy only to drop them quickly to wrap around her middle as she twisted.

Kimberly looked up at Tommy with tears in her eyes and her fear running deep. Sydney was her baby and she didn't know what to do. Tommy reached down and picked her up and started for the door.

"Let's take you downstairs and see if we can't figure out what's wrong. Okay, sweetie?"

Kimberly scrambled out of bed and followed him after throwing on her robe. Syd had her face buried in her father's shoulder and her arms were locked tightly around his neck. Kim's eyes swam with tears as she followed her baby and the man she had always loved to the basement.

Tommy spent several long minutes running scanners and sensors over his daughter before looking up at Kimberly. "It looks like it's her appendix. You were very right. We need to get her to the hospital."

Kimberly took a deep breath and ran upstairs to change so that she could go with her daughter to the hospital. By the time she ran back down the stairs, Tommy and Jason were in Tommy's jeep with Sydney curled up on her uncle's lap. Kimberly climbed in and reached for her daughter who went to her quickly and quietly as Tommy backed out of the driveway and started for the hospital.

* * *

Walking into the emergency room, Tommy headed straight for the desk to get the paperwork for his daughter's admission. 

"What seems to be the problem?" the nurse at the desk asked him.

"My daughter. I think she needs her appendix removed. She's been complaining about pain in her abdomen all morning."

They took Kimberly and Sydney back to the exam room and Tommy moved to follow them. "Sir, someone needs to fill out the paperwork."

"Send it back for her mother. My daughter needs both of her parents with her." Tommy headed back.

As he walked into the room, he saw that the doctor was just about to put an IV in his daughter's hand. "Daddy," Sydney cried softly.

He put himself at his daughter's side and pressed a kissed to her forehead. "I'm right here, baby. And I'm not going anywhere."

Kimberly's tear-streaked face lifted to look him in the eye. "Make her better. Make my baby better."

"The doctor's here now, Kim. He's going to do everything he can. Aren't you, doctor?"

"Of course. I promise, I will do everything I can to make this little lady feel better." The doctor was sympathetic: he'd seen more than his fair share of first time parents that panic with every little ache and pain their child gets.

Kim and Tommy watched as the doctor examined her with gentleness and care. He was just as considerate of the little girl's fears as he was of her parents' worries. He discovered that not only did the little one need her appendix removed but she had a serious case of gall stones on top of that.

Tommy watched as they wheeled his daughter back for the surgery from where he stood with a tearful Kimberly in his arms. "She's going to be just fine, Beautiful. I promise. And if she's not, we'll take care of her."

"Tommy, she's just a kid. Why does she have to go through all this?"

'_Why do any of us have to do this, Beautiful? Haven't we been through enough?'_ Tommy bowed his head and kissed Kimberly on the top of hers, closing his eyes and sending out a fervent wish that his little girl would be better quickly. For Kimberly's sake as well as his own.


	14. Chapter 14

DISCLAIMER: Nope not mine. I continue to hope though.

SUMMARY: Syd is safe on Phaedos with her parents and she's getting ready to start training her new powers.

**

* * *

**

Phaedos 2025

Sydney sat bolt upright on her bed. _'Sky wouldn't do that. He wouldn't get reckless like that just because of me.'_

The dream had scared her. She couldn't deny that. The thought that Sky might get careless in battle because she was gone was not a pleasant one.

She stood up and went to her door, listening for a moment to see if anyone was out there.

When she heard nothing, she opened the door and slipped into the hallway. _'Now let's see. I thought I saw a gym when Dad led me down here. Maybe I can get in a decent workout and fall back to sleep before anyone knows I'm awake.'_

Opening one door, she found what she was looking for. She smiled as she slipped inside and closed the door behind her before turning on the light. Looking around the gym, she was thrilled. She would work herself into exhaustion and then curl back up in bed and fall asleep again.

Within minutes, the young woman had started working out and worked herself into a full sweat. She was pushing herself harder than she'd ever pushed before.

She felt eyes on her and spun to confront her watcher only to find her father standing in the doorway watching her. She watched him for a moment catching her breath.

"Did I wake you, Daddy?" she asked after a moment of silence. She bowed her head as if she were embarrassed about being caught working out like that.

"No, Syd. You didn't wake me. Everything's been so quiet here at night that the least little disturbance in the normal routine throws my sleep off." Tommy smiled at his daughter. "You've really gotten good."

"I had to. I started out on B squad at the Academy and we became the Rangers only after A squad disappeared and became evil. It wasn't good. At first, I didn't fit in. Everyone thought I was just a spoiled kid who had always gotten what she wanted. They never knew that it wasn't my idea to be there."

"So Anubis worked you hard then?"

"Not just him." Sydney couldn't meet her father's eyes. She knew that he'd see the truth in them. She had worked hard to impress Sky. But he had never seemed to notice her.

"A member of your team that you wanted to notice you then?" Tommy asked, tilting his head as if to try to look at his daughter's eyes.

Her head jerked up and she had a look of simple shock across her face. "How did you guess?"

"Because your mom was the same way with me. Once I joined the team, she started working extra hard to get my attention. I never told her that she had my attention just by walking in the room. I was always completely aware of where she was when she was near me. I'd be willing to bet that your young man is the same way about you."

"Then why won't he at least look at me when we aren't in uniform?"

"Maybe he's afraid. Maybe he doesn't know what to say to you. Maybe he just doesn't realize that you feel this way about him." Tommy stepped to his daughter's side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe you should start things with him."

"We had to leave. What's going on, Dad? Why are people trying to kill us?"

"It's a long story, baby. We'll tell you what we can in the morning. Why don't you try to get some more sleep? The next few days are going to be long ones."

Sydney nodded and wrapped her arms around her dad's waist for a hug. Tommy hugged her back just as fiercely. She grabbed her towel and ran out, heading back to her room. Tommy just smiled after her. Then, he stepped to the door and leaned against the wall.

"You can come in now, Kimberly. I know you're out there."

Kimberly came around the corner and wrapped her arms around Tommy's waist. "You always knew where I was huh?"

"Especially when we were in battle. I had to make sure that nothing happened to you. I'm sure Sydney's young man was the same way with her. She just couldn't see it anymore than you could at times." He squeezed her shoulders for a moment before kissing the top of her head. "Of course, after nearly losing you so many times, I refuse to allow you to spend one day without telling you how much I love you."

"I love you too, Tommy."

The two of them smiled at each other and headed back to their own room to sleep for a little longer before Dulcea woke them to start their daughter's training.

**

* * *

**

Mirinoi

"Leo, thanks for getting us here. I hope that this doesn't get you in any trouble with Kendrix." Andros and Billy were talking to their friend after arriving.

"Not likely. She's wanted to know the story behind Kim and Tommy's disappearance for years and I couldn't tell her anything."

"Tommy and Kim are safe. Right now, we need to make certain that Sydney and Jason are just as safe. Jase had to blow the house."

Leo whistled low. "Things must have been bad. I know how much he loved that house."

"That's why we're headed to Phaedos after a few days here to throw off whoever may be following us."

"Good thought. I'm glad you're checking into this. Kendrix will be happy to hear any news about the whole damn thing."

"Just keep things quiet for now. We don't know anything for certain."

"Understood, Andros. You can count on me."

Leo shook the hand Andros held out to him as Billy looked on in approval.

**

* * *

**

New Tech City

Commander Cruger stepped out of his office. "Has anyone seen Ranger Tate?"

When the entire room had answered in the negative, he closed the door. "Sir, where do you think he might have gone?" Elizabeth Delgado asked from where she sat in front of the commander's desk. Beside her sat Bridge and the rest of the B squad.

"I don't know, Z, but he'd better contact me soon or I'll have no choice but to report him AWOL. As much as I hate the thought of cutting short his career like that I won't have much choice." Anubis Cruger hung his head, worried about his Red Ranger.

* * *

**On the Mega Ship**

A panel opened and a blond haired young man climbed out of the storage bin. He looked around before darting to an empty room. "I hope no one finds me. I'd be in big trouble. But I just know that Andros knows more than he's letting on. I have to find out what happened to Syd."


	15. Chapter 15

DISCLAIMER: Nope still not mine.

SUMMARY: Syd in the future has admitted to liking Sky who happens to have stowed away on the MegaShip on the way to Phaedos. Just how crazy are things going to get when he arrives there to find that Syd is safe with her overprotective parents and uncle?

**

* * *

**

Reefside 2004

Tommy and Kim were sitting in the waiting room huddled close together. Kim's head was nestled on Tommy's shoulder and he had an arm wrapped around her.

Jason watched as his two closest friends comforted each other. He looked down the hall to see the doctor walking toward them. "Tommy. Kim." His whispered voice had their attention before the doctor even got close to them.

The doctor watched as the two got to their feet with anxiety on their faces.

"Everything went excellent. The little one will be sore for a few days but she'll be just fine. You'll have to keep her calm for about a week and she'll have to be on a liquid diet."

Kim chuckled. " That ought to be fun." When the doctor gave her a puzzled look, she explained. "Our daughter is more than a little active. Some would even say that she's hyperactive. It won't be easy to keep her relaxed for a whole week."

"I also wanted to ask you about something. It appears that Sydney has had a couple of cracked ribs recently."

"It was an accident at one of her gymnastics classes. She fell on the balance beam and it cracked the ribs."

Tommy nodded. He figured the best thing to do for the moment was to just go along. After all, he knew that the doctor wouldn't understand them saying that she had taken on injuries to her mother in order to heal them.

"When can we see her?" Tommy asked.

" They just took her up to a room in the pediatric ward. I'd say give them about thirty minutes and then you can head up there." The doctor smiled; he understood overanxious parents.

"Thank you, doctor," Kimberly said with a sigh. The doctor noticed that she was leaning on Tommy quite heavily. Not that Tommy seemed to mind.

The doctor nodded and walked away from the trio in the hallway. Tommy and Kimberly wasted no time in finding out where the pediatric wing was.

Before the elevator arrived, they turned to Jason. "Would you go back to the house and let Aisha know what happened? I'm sure she's worried. We'll tell Syd that you'll be back soon with her Aunt Aisha to see her." Kimberly took Jason's hand as she spoke, hoping he'd understand her need to be with her daughter and Tommy.

"I will. And don't worry. Syd's a strong kid. She'll pull through this easily."

Kim threw her arms around Jason's neck. "Thanks, Jase. You always know just what to say."

Just then the elevator arrived and, as the doors started to close, Tommy tossed his keys to Jason who left the hospital feeling much better about everything.

**

* * *

**

Mirinoi 2025

"Well, I think five days should be long enough to throw off anyone who might have been trying to follow us to see what we were up to." Andros was packing up his gear and getting ready to fly off to Phaedos.

"I hope so. You told me that I'd get to see my friends again." Billy was almost sounding impatient. Andros smiled at his friend.

"I don't believe I've ever heard you be impatient like this." Andros was on the verge of chuckling as Billy waited for him to finish. "Let's go."

The two of them left the building where they'd been housed for the past few days and headed for the MegaShip.

**

* * *

**

Phaedos 2025

Kimberly, Tommy, Jason and Sydney met in the main hall to head down for breakfast. "Did everyone sleep well?" Dulcea asked as they walked in.

A chorus of voices met her ears. Jason had slept well; the others had mostly slept well. She smiled. All was now as it was supposed to be.

No one suspected that things were about to go completely haywire.


	16. Chapter 16

DISCLAIMER: Nope not mine.

SUMMARY: This one's hard to summarize because of the time jumping. Anyway, here's a new chapter. I know it's been a while but hey, RL is a pain in the butt.

**

* * *

**

MegaShip en route to Phaedos 2025

"Billy, we should be arriving on Phaedos in about two days. Why don't you go down to the simulation deck and get in a bit of a workout? It'll help you relax." Andros was planning on doing just that himself as soon as he made sure the course was laid in and the ship would go exactly where it was supposed to.

"What about you?"

"I'm going to do the same thing in a bit. I just want to make sure that the ship is set for the flight. She's a newer ship and I'm not sure if they got all the bugs worked out yet."

Billy nodded. "So you want me out of the way in order to call Phaedos and warn them that we're on the way?"

Andros chuckled. "I did want to surprise them with your arrival but if you want to be here when I contact them, that's fine." As he started to fiddle with the communications equipment, he chuckled again. "Tommy always did say that you were too smart for your own good sometimes, Billy."

"Phaedos, this is MegaShip. Phaedos, do you read me?"

"We read you MegaShip. Andros, how are you?" Tommy asked as he came on screen. "Billy? Is that really you?"

"It's me, Tommy. It's really great to see you again. Is Kimberly there too?"

"Hey, Kim, it's Billy." Kim bounced into the screen with a smile.

"Did Dad just say Uncle Billy's coming?" Syd's voice made Billy's eyes well up with tears.

"I knew it. I knew she was still alive," he whispered.

"Of course she is, Wolf."

"Dulcea! Are you well?" Billy inquired of the Master Warrior.

"I am, Billy. And you?"

"Better knowing that my friends aren't dead. Where is Jason?"

"Resting. He came in with a bullet wound. He's healed up, thanks to Sydney but I think we wore him out today. Sydney had to go into the forest as part of her training and she faced the dino skeletons. It nearly gave Jason a heart attack to watch her fight them." Kim was giggling, remembering the way they'd had to fight the skeletons when she and her fellow Rangers gained the Ninjetti powers.

"Kim, it's not funny. He almost got trampled by that damn Trike." Tommy was trying to sound stern with his wife and failing miserably.

"Yeah. Sydney had to save him from the dinosaurs and she pulled the exact same move Tommy did. Yanking a bone out of the neck and riding it down as it fell apart."

Billy chuckled at the memory of Tommy doing that and then his mind put Sydney in the same position and he laughed even harder. "I think I would have paid to see that one."

"You really have mellowed with age, Billy. You haven't used not one big word since this conversation started," Kimberly teased.

"That's Becky's job now. I have to do the translations for everyone else."

"We should be putting in there in about two days, Tommy," Andros announced. "I hope you're ready for us."

"We will be. It'll be good to see you guys again." Kim wrapped her arm around Tommy's shoulders and squeezed just a little. "It'll be almost like old times."

Billy smiled and nodded.

Just then, an alarm went off on the console. "What's going on, Andros?" Billy asked at the same time as Kim and Tommy spat out the question.

"Tommy, I have to go. The ship's picking up someone tampering with the systems. Apparently, someone's on board that shouldn't be." Tommy nodded and they cut the connection. Andros and Billy left the bridge wondering who was on the ship and what they were after.

*****

Sky was trying to shut off the alarms when the two senior Rangers found him outside the engine room.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Andros demanded.

"Sky? What are you doing here?" Billy asked at the same time.

Andros turned to Billy. "Do you know him?"

"He's one of the SPD Rangers. He works with Syd. This is Schuyler Tate also known as Sky."

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to find out what happened to Sydney. I wanted to know why she disappeared."

"Why?" Andros asked. He wasn't happy that the young man had snuck on board like that.

Sky ducked his head. "Because I care about her."

Billy felt a bit of sympathy for the young man sneak in. "You more than care about her." It wasn't an accusation just a statement of fact.

Sky's eyes jerked up to look at the former Blue Ranger. How could he have been so intuitive when it comes to emotions? "How do you know?"

"I've seen this before. Between Tommy and Kim. Between Carlos and Cassie. Between Andros and Ashley. It's pretty obvious that you love Sydney and you just never knew how to say it."

Andros just looked at Billy, amazed. He had seen the emotions that had existed between him and Ashley before they ever decided to act on it? "Billy, my friend, you are just scary when it comes to what you see."

"I just look carefully at what I see. Besides its not like you weren't pretty obvious about protecting Ashley while you guys were in uniform." Billy was teasing Andros about his feelings for Ashley. Andros smiled.

"I guess I didn't hide things very well." He turned back to Sky. "Well, since you're already here and I'm assuming you've been trying to tap into the communications, I guess it's too late to try to turn around and take you back to earth. Did you tell Commander Cruger where you were going?"

Sky simply hung his head. "I guess we'd better call the SPD first," Billy noted.

The three turned around and headed for the bridge.

****

"Commander Cruger, this is the Megaship. Come in Commander Cruger."

"This is Cruger. Andros, Billy, how are you?"

"We're fine, Commander. Unfortunately, we aren't making a social call. We seem to have found someone you may have lost." Andros gestured and Sky stepped into view.

"Ranger Tate! What the hell are you doing?"

"Anubis, I understand what he did. Although he went about it the wrong way." Billy didn't want this young man in too much trouble. After all, he just wanted to know what had happened to the woman he loved.

"We will discuss this when you return, Tate. What do you plan to do with him in the meantime, Billy?"

"He's going to have to go with us. We can't turn back now. We are expected somewhere within the next two days and if we turned back, we'd never make it in time. We'll keep him under control." Sky didn't know what that meant and he wasn't real sure he wanted to know. "He's just going to have to do exactly as he's told for the next several days."

Billy gave him a hard look as did Andros and Sky knew that the former Ranger meant exactly what he said.

"That very thing could possibly influence my decision on how to deal with this. Remember that, Ranger. Your behavior in the next several days could be the determining factor in what happens with your career." He focused on Billy for a moment. "Billy, I'm counting on you to bring my Ranger back to me in one piece."

"Your trust is well-placed, Anubis. I assure you."

Billy signed off and turned to Sky. "I guess we should find you a room to stay in. And, fair warning, if your presence here endangers our mission in any way, I won't hesitate to turn you over to two people that will take care of the problem permanently."

Sky had the feeling that for the rest of this trip, he'd be best off just staying in whatever room they gave him.


End file.
